1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to garments for infants and specifically relates to a length-adjustable bunting-type article which is structured to enclose an infant or small child, and is especially adapted for use with infant carriers and car seats.
2. Description of Related Art
Given the need and desire to protect infants or small children from the elements, and particularly cold environments, various blankets and bunting-type garments have been used through the years to wrap or enclose children and small infants. The very earlier types of enclosures were simply blankets that were flat pieces of fabric which could be wrapped in some manner about the child. Later, blankets began to be more specially configured to adapt to the form of a baby or child to provide greater protection. Such adaptations are generally referred to as buntings.
Numerous baby-enclosing structures, or bunting-type articles, that are adapted from the concept of a flat blanket have been disclosed. Examples of such bunting-type articles are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,204 to Mohler, U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,226 to Crosby and U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,094 to Ruefer. Each of the articles described in those patents comprises a foot or leg enclosure portion and flattened, enlarged side portions to wrap around the body of the child. While each of the disclosed devices is suitable for its purpose, none is particularly well-adapted to use in a child""s carrier or car seat because the configuration of the article, particularly the enlarged, child-enveloping side portions, produce a bulky aggregate of material which does not enable a child, wrapped in the article, to be positioned comfortably in a carrier or car seat.
Others have developed child-enveloping bunting-type articles with a thought to adapting the article""s configuration to use with a child carrier or car seat. Specifically, bunting-type articles have been developed which provide holes or cut-out portions to accommodate the harnessing structures of a car seat or carrier. Examples of such devices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,781,946 to McEntire, et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,095 to Schneider. Even with such specially configured articles, it can be seen that they require complicated placement and attachment of the article to the carrier and do not easily facilitate placement of the child in the bunting-like article.
Still others have developed car seat or carrier device covers or pads which are especially adapted to providing a cushion for the child while in the carrier or car seat. Examples of such covers or pads are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,090 and U.S. Pat. No. Design Pat. Nos. D257,086; D312,550; D312,549; D313,528; D313,723 and D376,505. However, none of the covers or pads disclosed in the foregoing patents are configured to enclose the child nor provide any protection from the cold.
All known bunting-type articles are similar in that they are of a fixed longitudinal length. Therefore, if a bunting-type article is purchased to accommodate a very small infant, such as a newborn, the article will soon be obsolete as the child grows, and a new bunting-type article of greater length and size will be required. Alternatively, a larger size bunting article can be purchased for a small infant or newborn, but the child will be overwhelmed by the size of the article until the child grows into its dimensions. Consequently, the oversized bunting-type article is also difficult to adapt for use in a car seat or carrier because excess material interferes with the securing the car seat or carrier harness about the child and the bunting-type article.
Thus, it would be advantageous in the art to provide a child-enclosing, bunting-type article that is structured to be selectively adjustable in overall length to accommodate children or infants of varying sizes, which is especially configured to facilitate placement of the child in a car seat or carrier and which provides the cushioning elements of a car seat or carrier pad.
In accordance with the present invention, a garment for enclosing an infant or small child is structured to be selectively adjustable in length to accommodate infants of various sizes or increasing growth, and is configured to facilitate use of the garment with car seats or carriers while also being structured to provide cushioning for the child while in the car seat or carrier.
The garment of the present invention is generally comprised of an infant-enclosing structure having a body portion for receiving the infant. The body portion is generally of a selected length and is structured with length-adjusting apparatus which allows the overall length of the garment to be selectively sized or adjusted to accommodate a child of given length. The length-adjusting apparatus preferably provides shortening of the length of the garment in a manner which evenly distributes the material of the garment to avoid excessive bunching of the material.
The garment of the present invention may further be structured with opposing body-enclosing members connected to the body portion in a manner which allows the garment to be wrapped about the infant to enclose the infant therein. The opposing body-enclosing members, also referred to herein as xe2x80x9cwings,xe2x80x9d are structured or attached to the body portion in a manner that enables the garment to be used in a car seat or carrier having a five-point attachment harness. The configuration of the opposing wings thus allows the child to be secured into the car seat or harness without causing a bunching-up of the material of the garment, and allows the opposing wings to be drawn back from the child or rolled into a position to provide cushioning for the infant without impeding the five-point attachment harness of the car seat or carrier.
The garment may further be structured with a leg-enclosing portion for adapting the garment to the child and to the harnessing construction of a car seat or carrier. In a preferred embodiment, the leg-enclosing portion has a waist band adaptable to the body of the infant and has selectively closeable side openings to facilitate placement of the infant in the garment. The garment may further include a head-covering portion connected to the body portion to cover the head of the infant. The head-covering portion is preferably configured to be adjusted and positioned to provide cushioning to the head of the infant while in a car seat or carrier.
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the garment is further provided with a garment liner which is configured to overlay the body portion of the garment, including the opposing body-enclosing portions and head-covering portion. The garment may also include a jacket sized to be received within the body portion and opposing body-enclosing portions to further insulate the infant from the elements.